5 Superstars who were WWE World Champions in 3 different decades

Modified Sep 20, 2019 10:38 GMT

The Pro Wrestling business is centered around one thing: the top prize, the final goal, that one belt every Superstar wants to get their hands at. Every Pro Wrestling company has its own top belt that the wrestlers in that particular company strive to win. WWE has had the WWE title for decades on end, and a string of legendary Superstars have won the same over the course of the past 70 years or so.

Then, there are a select few who have not only won the top prize, but have done it in separate decades, with some going as far as holding it in three different decades. Let's take a look at 5 of these Superstars.

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#5 The Rock

Thanks to the gimmick change from a generic babyface to an obnoxious heel, The Rock's career took a major turn that would soon make him one of the biggest Superstars of all time. The Rock is currently one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

He won his first WWE title in the 90s, specifically at Survivor Series 1998. The Rock defeated Mankind in a re-enactment of the Montreal incident from a year prior, becoming the WWE Champion.

He won the title on several occasions in the 2000s, with his last reign being in 2002. It didn't last long, and The Rock lost the title to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. In 2013, The Rock met CM Punk at Royal Rumble, and defeated him to win the WWE title again, after a gap of 11 years.

He went on to lose the belt to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, in their rematch from the previous WrestleMania. Thus, The Rock managed to bag the title in three separate decades: 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.

#4 Bob Backlund

Bob Backlund was one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 70s. He defeated 'Superstar' Billy Graham in 1978, and won the WWE title in the process. He held the belt for more than 2000 days. This includes a house show title loss to Antonio Inoki, but WWE doesn't recognize the same.

Backlund took the belt with him to the next decade, and dropped it to The Iron Sheik in 1983. He came back to WWE in the early 90s, and met Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1994 with the WWE title on the line.

Backlund’s Crossface Chickenwing led to Bret's mom throwing in the white towel (at the request of Owen Hart) and giving Backlund the win and the WWE title.

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#3 The Undertaker

The Deadman won his first WWE title way back in the early 90s, when he defeated Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991. He went on to become a mainstay in WWE, and carved a legendary undefeated streak at WrestleMania.

He also won several WWE World titles in the 2000s. One of those reigns kicked off in 2002, when he defeated Hulk Hogan at Judgment Day. He didn't keep the belt for long though, and lost it to The Rock at Vengeance 2002, in a Triple Threat Match that also included Kurt Angle.

The Undertaker won the World title in 2009, and carried it to the 2010s. He lost the same to Chris Jericho inside Elimination Chamber, due to an interference by Shawn Michaels.

#2 Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan won his first WWE title back in 1984, when he defeated The Iron Sheik. Hogan became the biggest Superstar of the 80s and was still a big draw when the 90s arrived. He won the title three times in the 90s, with two wins at WrestleMania against Sergeant Slaughter and Yokozuna.

Hogan soon went to WCW, and came back to WWE in 2002 as a part of the nWo. His popularity led to Vince McMahon making him WWE Champion again. He won the title by defeating Triple H at Backlash 2002, losing it weeks later to The Undertaker.

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#1 Triple H

Superstars like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't remain WWE regulars for long, but Triple H has been an integral part of the company ever since he made his debut way back in the mid-90s. The Game won the WWE title for the first time on the August 23, 1999 episode of Monday Night Raw, by defeating Mankind.

He won the World title and the WWE title on several instances during the 2000s. Triple H enjoyed multiple WWE title reigns during 2007-09, but soon took over an authoritative position on the main roster.

This didn't stop him from winning the WWE World title again one time, when he won the Royal Rumble Match in 2016. The free-for-all that year was contested for the WWE title.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram